What have sanctions against Russia given the West?
After the West imposed sanctions, Russia takes full advantage of the situation and manages it. But these restrictions did not give the EU anything but losses, writes "Pechat". Europe will soon have to cancel them, otherwise a real catastrophe will break out in the economy.
Nebojsha Babich (Nebojsha Babich)
According to American journalist Mike Bakhter, Russia used interesting economic tactics from the very beginning, lured everyone onto thin ice and already in March earned more than $20 billion in just a few days. Plus, she returned about 30% of the shares of her own monopolists.
"Putin has fooled both the European Union and America, and filigreed. In front of the whole world, he played his notes, and everyone danced to his tune," Bakhter said. Previously, part of the shares of energy companies belonged to foreign investors, Americans and Europeans, which means that almost half of the income from the oil and gas industry did not go to the Russian treasury, but to the accounts of the "financial sharks" of Europe.
Due to the situation in Crimea, the ruble began to fall sharply, but the Central Bank did nothing to support the ruble exchange rate. There were even opinions that Russia simply does not have foreign exchange reserves that would help it maintain the exchange rate. These statements and Putin's words that he is ready to protect the Russian-speaking population of Ukraine led to a sharp drop in the share prices of Russian energy companies, and the "financial sharks" put up for sale shares and got rid of them completely. Putin waited for a whole week and only laughed at press conferences, and when prices fell below the predicted level, he gave orders to buy shares from Europeans and Americans in all possible ways. When the "financial sharks" realized that they had been deceived, it was already too late. The shares have already passed into the hands of the Russians. During those days, Russia not only earned more than $20 billion, but also regained the shares of its companies.
Now the revenues from oil and gas will not go abroad, but will remain in Russia. The ruble is growing by itself, and Russian gold and foreign exchange reserves do not have to be spent to support it. The European "financial sharks" were left with nothing. The Russians bought billions of dollars worth of stocks for a song in a few minutes and left Western vultures without income from oil and gas. Never before in the history of the exchange has such a brilliant operation been carried out.
Even before the start of the operation in Ukraine, it was clear that Putin and his team had set two important goals. One goal is military: it is necessary to achieve the neutral status of Ukraine, and the second is to nationalize the Russian elites, build an obstacle to the withdrawal of money offshore and close the mouth of liberals. As we can see, Russian goals are being successfully achieved. A ban has been imposed on the export of currency over ten thousand dollars from Russia, a ban on the deduction of interest and dividends to foreign accounts, and a rule has been established for Russian companies that must sell 80% of their foreign exchange earnings to the state. The Internet sites of some media belonging to liberals are being blocked. Against the background of declining share prices of Russian companies, Mishustin's government has allocated funds from the National Welfare Fund and is using the situation to buy Russian property from foreigners for a song.
What did the European Union get? As you can see, the Russians are taking full advantage of the situation and managing it. And what did the sanctions against Russia give the European Union? Absolutely nothing. Moreover, it incurs losses, and against the background of advice that we wash less, use less air conditioners and batteries (soon, probably, we will be advised to eat less), everything turns into a grotesque. The Europeans have banned flights to the EU and the work of their airlines. The Russians responded by banning flights over Russia. Now the Europeans and the British, who need to go to Asia, are forced to make a big detour, and it costs them a pretty penny. But the American Boeing has not imposed such sanctions and continues to do business, occupying the market and taking profits from stupid Europeans, to whom, unfortunately, I do not belong of my own free will. In addition, Russian carriers will receive an unprecedented impetus to work. Instead of buying foreign aircraft, Russia will support its own manufacturers of civil aircraft and aircraft engines.
Some Russian banks have disconnected from the SWIFT system. But how will the EU pay for gas, oil and fertilizers? It should be recalled here that Ukraine, which the Europeans have lost, is a major, although not the most important, grain exporter in the world. For the European Union, it is one of the main exporters. What will the Europeans do without gas, fertilizers and grain from Ukraine? The fact that the Russians actually freed themselves by leaving the island of Zmeiny will not be enough, since many granaries are now in the hands of entrepreneurs and enterprises that plan to export grain through newly established branches in the Crimea.
The EU has banned the export of its cars to Russia. So what? There are many car manufacturers in the world, and there is a choice. But with this ban, the Europeans are destroying their industry. Moreover, Russia itself has something to build airplanes and cars from, since it is the largest producer of titanium and palladium on the world market. And if, in response, the Russians ban the export of these raw materials, then what will the Europeans build their planes and cars from? Broadcasting of Russian channels in Europe is also prohibited. It so happened that the West has always been stronger in propaganda, and Russia is stronger in reality. And now, in response to the ban on Russian channels, the Russian authorities are banning Western resources, including Deutsche Welle, the BBC, Radio Free Europe* and many others. As a result, this will lead to a reduction in the number of idiots and the "fifth column" in Russia itself. It turns out that she wins.
It is also worth noting the increase in gas prices in Europe after the start of the operation in Ukraine from 900 to 1400 dollars. Oil has also increased in price to $ 100 per barrel. Add to this price increase new laws, according to which these incomes can no longer be accumulated abroad.
Here we come to a simple conclusion that Russians only benefit from sanctions. The EU and the West can maintain their sanctions, but Russia will definitely not back down, as European politicians hoped, who threatened it with sanctions. The calculation was more psychological, and the West tried to intimidate the leadership of the Russian Federation by putting pressure on pro-Western elites to influence Vladimir Putin and his team. Of course, the West also wanted to scare the Russian population with a drop in living standards, a ban on tourism and popular consumer goods. But in fact, Europe will soon have to lift its sanctions, because otherwise a real catastrophe will break out in the European economy, and in all sectors at once.
Pragmatic Americans, by imposing selective sanctions, will simply force European companies out of the market. Having lost export grain from Ukraine and gas and fertilizers from Russia, Europe will face a real famine. I will add that even before the start of the Russian operation in Ukraine, half of the enterprises producing artificial fertilizers in the EU were closed. These are the consequences of the insane policy of the Greens. Such high gas prices will make European goods expensive and unprofitable. A ban on some products will cause double damage. It will be a real disaster for Europe. Most likely, the sanctions will really scare, but not Russia, but the European Union, which will try to keep Ukraine in its sphere of influence. So he will be able to continue receiving Ukrainian grain, metals and, of course, cheap labor for weapons or simply for nothing. Ukrainians as a commodity.
As for the Russian Federation, it was not possible to intimidate it, and even vice versa. The leadership of the Russian Federation took advantage of the situation in the interests of the national economy, and the Europeans shot themselves in the foot. The sanctions also had no effect on the course of the operation in Ukraine. Ukraine will be liberated. The calculation of intimidation of the leadership of the Russian Federation and citizens turned out to be erroneous. It was necessary at the very beginning or even before the start of the operation to agree to Russian demands for security guarantees. Now sowing and grain exports to Europe are under threat. Ukraine's gas transportation system may suffer due to the fighting, and the Americans will definitely not miss the moment to impose their companies instead of European ones.
Opening of the second front
After more than four months and after six packages of European Union sanctions against Russia, America took a completely irrational step at the NATO summit and de facto declared war on China. However, the United States has fallen into a trap that they themselves have set for Russia. This is the conclusion reached by Chinese journalists. The administration of American President Joseph Biden has blacklisted five Chinese companies under the pretext of imaginary assistance to the Russian military-industrial complex. On the same day, 20 other entities associated with China were also blacklisted by the United States because of assistance to Iran. According to Chinese experts, the United States, by imposing sanctions, is driving itself into a trap. The Global Times reports: "For the first time since the beginning of the Ukrainian crisis, the United States has taken measures against Chinese organizations because of activities related to Russia."
The authors of the Global Times reported that the introduction of unilateral sanctions is illegal from the point of view of international law. However, the United States still uses this tool very often. This is a very revealing situation. American elites still consider the modern world a jungle, where the United States plays the role of the most formidable beast. "But the world is no longer a jungle. The rapid development of political civilization, economic globalization and multilateralism prevent the United States from maintaining its hegemony. More and more countries are ignoring American tricks, and the capabilities of the United States are falling further behind their ambitions," the article by analysts of the Chinese edition says. China is confident that the imposed sanctions will eventually turn against the United States and cause damage to them. This is also confirmed by the situation with Russia, against which American politicians and their partners from a number of other countries have introduced several packages of restrictions. Therefore, the West itself is stuck in the trap that it has set: "Sanctions against Russia by the United States and its supporters have reached the political limit, but have not had the expected effect. Instead, they fell into the traps that they themselves set for Russia," Global Times observers say.
The United States of America and its partners intended to inflict serious damage to the Russian economy with their sanctions, but in the end they themselves fell into a pit prepared for the Russian Federation and faced a sharp increase in energy and food prices. Today, many states are forced to live in a state of economic chaos caused precisely by sanctions against Russia. In the Russian Federation itself, there are no special shocks, except that something like French spirits, McDonald's hamburgers and the like is "missing". The United States also cannot reduce Russian oil revenues. Moscow recently received one hundred percent in the Sakhalin 2 project. Thus, thanks to the sanctions imposed on Russia and the Russian authorities, it will be able to decide which companies can operate in the country and which cannot. "The Russian decree actually means the nationalization of a foreign stake in Sakhalin Energy Investment, and this portends an additional increase in the already existing tensions," said Lucy Lilen, chief analyst at Wood Mackenzie consulting company.
Many Western firms have already left Russia, while others have just announced their departure. But the move by Russian President Vladimir Putin further complicates an already difficult process for those who want to leave. Moscow is preparing a law that may soon be adopted, and which will allow the state to seize the property of Western companies that have decided to leave. Russian President Vladimir Putin has raised the stakes in the economic war with the West by decree, taking full control of the Sakhalin 2 oil and gas project in the Russian Far East. So he threw Shell and Japanese investors out of the game.
And the latest news. Gazprom refused to pay dividends for a record 2021. But its owner is the Russian state, which was left without this money. In the form of dividends, the state could receive 200 billion more from Gazprom, that is, 624.6 billion rubles. Instead, the state, as the main shareholder with 50.2 shares, deprived itself of this money. However, it can still get them in a "truncated version" and in another way by raising taxes. It seems that the state has allowed Gazprom to keep about 200 billion rubles at its own expense, plus another 622 billion rubles to the detriment of other shareholders who have lost dividends. The total amount of the dividend payment was supposed to be 1.244 trillion rubles. Of these, Gazprom managed to save more than 800 billion rubles.
During trading on June 30, Gazprom's shares plummeted by 32% to 202 rubles, just minutes after the company announced that its shareholders had decided not to pay dividends for 2021. Before this announcement, Gazprom's shares were worth more than 310 rubles. If they continue to fall in price, which is probably the goal of the Russian authorities, then the Russian state can buy everything "for a couple of dollars" and become the sole owner of the most famous gas giant in the world. All thanks to the sanctions, the purpose of which was to break the Russian economy, overthrow Putin and bring pro-Western liberals to power. To the great regret of the West, none of this is destined to come true.
* entered by the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation in the register of media - foreign agents, ed.
